Electric chime



y 1941- Y M. PEARL 2,247,641

ELECTRIC CHIME I F' iIed April 4, 1946 'J'jL/ INVENTOR. (yo/n; L, Pearl Z ATTORNEY.

Patented July 1, 1941 ELECTRIC CHIME Morris L. Pearl, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Pearlplan Mfg. Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a partnership composed of Lewis R. Levi and Morris L. Pearl Application April 4, 1940, Serial'No. 327,916

2 "Claims.

My invention relates to a signaling device, and relates particularly to electrically operated audible-chimes.

Heretofore, electrically actuated chimes have been employed, but the chimes have required a special transformer distinctfrom the customary 110420 to 8 volt .bell transformer. Thenecessity to use a special transformer, made particularly for chimes, has deterred many persons from utilizing two-tone. or two-tube or sounding bar chimes, whichemit audible, soft, mellow, musical notes that are pleasing to the ear as contrasted to raucous doorbells and buzzers. Furthermore, the constructionoftheprior art two-tone chimes has necessitated a strong solenoid or electrical field to actuate the clapper from one tube or sounding bar to the-other tube-r sounding bar.

I overcome the above difficulties by utilizing electrical energy forone stroke of the'chime and the attraction of gravity for theother stroke.

Therefore, it is an object of my invention to provide a two-tonemusical chime which .does not require special equipment.

Another object of my invention is that precision in adjustment and in assembly is not necessary.

Other objects of my invention are to provide an improved device of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction and which is highly enicient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, my invention consists in the following details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a two-tube chime embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the twotone chime as it is employed.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the electrical control system for actuating my invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the audible signaling device embodying my invention comprises a vertically positioned supporting plate l0 preferably made of a single sheet of metal suitably stamped to have a horizontally positioned flange II. The flange ll carries a plurality of electrical wire binding posts l2, l4 and I6, which serve to connect the electrical circuit at one or more different locations, as for example, one push button is in the front of the house, and the other push button is in the rear of the house. Suitable openings are in the plate l0 whereby the device maybe secured to the walkerany other suitablesupporting deviceby-means-of screws or bolts.

for a shaft 20. The shaft carries the upper end of a swingable clapper or hammer arml22. The clapper arm 22has at its lower end asnonmetallic plug or striking tip, or :bumper, :or clapper 24 extending fromeach side for the:.pur-

pose of engaging one or the other of sounding:

bars or chime tubes 28-and 28.

A grommet within the swingable' arm 22 and near the center loosely holds the flattened end of a metallic solenoid plunger 30 to the swingable arm. The other end 32 of the plunger 30 is unattached and cylindrical in shape and rests withina-central bore 34 of the solenoid coil 36. Itshouldibeparticularly noted that the solenoid .coil is inclined atan angle to the horizontal of approximately 30 so that the-plunger :38is

likewiseinclined'tothe horizontal. The advantage of this construction is thattherebound'kof the clapper plus thevattraction of gravity =wlll' render-:aclear, strong audible note in'thesecond' spect to the hammer or clapper 22 in order to insure a clear, audible, musical tone.

By my construction of the elements hereinbefore described, the solenoid or electro-magnet 38 when energized draws the plunger 30 to the left, as Fig. 1 is viewed, thereby drawing the lower end of the clapper arm 22 from its vertical position and drawing the clapper against the attraction of gravity, hence the clapper 24 strikes the tube chime 28 emitting an audible sound. The de-energizing of the solenoid causes the striking tip 24 of the arm 22 to descend by virtue of the attraction of gravity with the result that the striking tip 24 hits the tube 26. pressing the door push-button 46, two notes will be sounded. In the ordinary operation the plunger will be demagnetized in time for the striker to rebound and thus avoid damping of the tone.

An ordinary to 8 volt electric transformer,

A downwardly protruding, ear H3 in the flange ll serves as a bearing support Therefore, by'

generally designated as T, only need be used in my arrangement, because the attraction of gravity is used to sound one chime after the solenoid or electro-magnet energizes the plunger to move the clapper against the other chime. The hammer arm 22 is loosely pivoted at its upper portion to avoid any undue resistance, and the plunger 30 has one of its ends loosely pivoted to the hammer arm 22 by the grommet 25.

In cases where the chimes are sounded from at least two places, a different audible signal sound is sounded from the second place, and this is preferably done by sounding but one sounding bar or chime. Hence, a second pushbutton 50 energizing a small number of convolutions on the solenoid may be employed so that the hammer is raised sufliciently high to avoid striking the chime 28; and upon the break of the current, the solenoid will be de-energized with the result that the clapper will fall striking the chime 26, thereby sounding but one note.

An attractively designed cover plate 48 covers the striking mechanism of the chimes, revealing only the chime tubes 26 and 28, thus enhancing the appearance of the unit.

It should be noted that the solenoid or armature is preferably circular and may be made of a large number of convolutions of thin wire, which preferably serve as a magnetic coil. The strength of the magnet may be varied, depending upon the size of the coil, whether it has an iron tube, or a brass tube, thus changing the permeability of the magnetic circuit.

By loosely and freely mounting the clapper arm 22, it will be seen that upon energizing the coil 36 to thrust the clapper toward the tube 28, the striking tip 24 of the clapper arm 22 will make but brief contact with the tube and will rebound from the tube at a speed equal to the response frequency of the tube. In this manner, a clear, mellow tone will be delivered by the reed.

To insure a rich tone, the tubes 26 and 28 have a wood or rubber plug near the upper portion thereof, and the string or wire 44 is attached to the plug.

Although my invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a base having a pivoted hammer or clapper having a striking tip at the free end thereof, said hammer lying freely in a vertical plane, an electric solenoid inclined at an angle of approximately 30 to the horizon tal, a plunger having one end freely movable within said solenoid and the other end pivotally connected to a portion of said hammer intermediate the ends of said hammer, said plunger having its free end lying in a plane above its pivoted end, a plurality of sounding members located opposite each side of said hammer and in the path of the swing of said hammer whereby the solenoid will cause the hammer to move upwardly and strike one sounding member, and upon the de-energizing of said solenoid the attraction of gravity will result in the sounding of the other sounding member.

2. The combination of a base having a pivoted hammer or clapper having a striking tip at the free end thereof, said hammer lying freely in a vertical plane, an electric solenoid inclined at an angle of approximately 30 to the horizontal, a plunger having one end freely movable within said solenoid and the other end pivotally connected to a portion of said hammer intermediate the ends of said hammer, said plunger having its free end lying in a plane above its pivoted end, a plurality of sounding members located opposite each side of said hammer and in the path of the swing of said hammer whereby the solenoid will cause the hammer to move upwardly and strike one sounding member, and upon the de-energizing of said solenoid the attraction of gravity will result in the sounding of the other sounding member, and means connected to said solenoid whereby only one sounding member will be sounded.

MORRIS L. PEARL. 

